Posted By Nick Kosmider On June 27, 2014 @ 3:11 pm In College Basketball,Colorado State University,Mountain West Conference | No Comments

Marcus Holt will return to the Rams next season. (Courtesy of Dan Byers, CSU athletics)

Marcus Holt will play next season at Colorado State after all.

The 6-foot-10 senior forward, a former Rangeview star, was granted a scholarship release from CSU in April, but after two months of consideration, he has decided to spend his final college season with the Rams, the school said in a statement Friday.

“After taking some time to think about my future, I have decided that I will be rejoining the Colorado State men’s basketball team,” Holt said in a statement. “I want to thank Coach Eustachy for his support and understanding throughout this entire process. I appreciate him keeping the door open and allowing me to come back. I have discussed this with my teammates as well and they have welcomed me back with open arms. I really look forward to finishing my career in the green and gold as well as completing my degree.”

“We are very happy to welcome Marcus back into our program,” Eustachy said. “Competitive players always want to be in a situation where they feel like they can contribute to the success of a program. After exploring his options, Marcus decided that he can have that kind of impact at CSU, and my staff and I believe that too.”

Holt’s return could be key for a CSU team that saw three players — David Cohn, Dwight Smith and Jon Octeus — transfer since last season ended.

Smith (Northern Colorado) and Octeus (undecided) are eligible to play immediately at their new schools under the NCAA rule that gives players who graduate a chance to play at another institution right away, provided they enroll in a graduate degree program their old school doesn’t have.

The Rams had also hoped to have the services of Louisville transfer Chane Behanan, who signed with CSU in January. But Behanan eventually decided to forego his final college season and enter the NBA draft. (Behanan was not drafted Thursday.)

The Rams have reaped rewards from college basketball’s transfer craze, too. Joining the CSU lineup this winter will be three players who redshirted last season: Stanton Kidd (6-7, forward, North Carolina Central), Dantiel Daniels (6-5, forward, Southern Illinois) and Jon Gillon (6-0, guard, Arkansas-Little Rock), who will have a crack at replacing Octeus at the point guard position.

The Rams also are reportedly adding former Iowa State guard Bubu Palo, but that move will only become official if Palo has his waiver for a sixth year of eligibility approved by the NCAA.

Article printed from The Field House: http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges